A new Vertical Epic will be released every year, with the goal being to collect them all and have a Vertical Epic tasting once the final Epic is released on 12/12/12. Each new Stone Vertical Epic Ale will be release one YEAR, one MONTH and one DAY apart. This time around we used some unmalted wheat, just the right touch of Kaffir Lime Leaf, and a really cool Belgian yeast. The result is a bit like a strong Biere de Garde / Saison-esque influenced beer coupled with some aromatic Bavarian Hefeweizen style phenolic banana esters, and a backnote hint of lime from the lime leaf.

Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Appearance - wow very little carbonation and no head from this draft pour. The body is a very hazy yellow body

Smell- Almost lactose sugar sweet with a little funk. There is a medium banana ripeness to it. Very strange and yet intreging.

Taste- somewhat like the nose. There is a bit of funk and ripeness that. I have never encountered before. There is a bspa yeast element and then a wet mop of a mouthfeel. Kinda of a disappoint because I feel like there is something there.

Cloudy golden with a whisper of an off-white head. Leaves irregular spots and lines of stick down the glass. Pretty enough, and appropriate.

The Belgian yeast presents sweet banana character along with some mild pepper notes, a touch of citrus (though I wouldn't say lime if I was given this blind), and distinct banana. There's also a substantial amount of simple sweetness that covers up much of the complexity that may be there. The aroma is still very strong and expressive after all these years. A bit too much alcohol heat and overbearing sweetness to score particularly well.

The flavor follows the aroma. A flavorful, bold combination of banana, booze, mild citrus, and tangy Belgian yeast character. Like with the aroma, there's an overbearing sweetness that dominates.

Though I never had the opportunity to try this fresh, this is now a thick, heavy, nearly-flat beer reminiscent of a syrup. The low point of this beer.

App- A bit of an apple juice color with a bit of density behind it. A bit more golden than I wouldve thought. A small ring of bubbles was there and was gone quite quickly.

Smell- I didnt get any of the lime on this bottle. I got more of a malty, sweet a little bit of a saison note with some small peppery bits and then moved into a bit of sweet apple notes.

Taste- I thought it was a nice beer. Wasnt overly oxidized and didnt have the usual pop that a BSPA would have. The lime was gone and tasted more like a juice or a white wine to me. (Having 11-11-11 in white wine 2 after this. I still agree) The malts were much more pronounced and this had lost a lot of the nuance of the style.

Mouth- A bit of a syrupy medium body with a medium carbonation. The residual flavors are there with only a touch of the spicy and body of a saison. A little bit of sweetness and apple.

Drink- Probably my least favorite of the earlier bottles. I would say that it was 06-05-03-04. Was a lot of fun to do this tasting.

This bottle sat in my cellar - two different cellars, actually, as I moved in 2011 - until 12/11/12, when it moved into my fridge. Consumed on 12/12/12 - not a day sooner - as per the directions on the bottle. This is my 998th beer review on BeerAdvocate.com.

A: Poured into a Piraat tulip/snifter-type glass that has served me well all these years. Body is hazy orangeish-amber with a small white head.

S: Oxidation is noted in the nose - some wet cardboard and sherry-like scents. Also a lot of sweet malt in general, along with a hint of lime or citrus. Alcohol is noted as well.

T: Follows the nose a little - sherry-like from the oxidation and an almost vanilla-like sweetness. Surprised at the heat from the 8.5% ABV - it finishes a little bit hot. Lacking in hoppy bitterness, which is not surprising, but it doesn't finish in a cloyingly sweet way at all.

M: About medium in heft, maybe a little lighter. Smooth, bordering on syrupy, feel - which, combined with the ABV, makes it feel like a sipper despite the heft.

O: Interesting. Certainly drinkable, but I'm curious as to what the beer tasted like fresh (I didn't drink a bottle 8+ years ago). Glad I tried the experiment, but I'm not blown away by this one on 12/12/12. . . .

S- Lightly soured presence of honey, straw, faint hint of lime, and light esters, not overly aromatic. I feel as if this definitely got a little bit soured/funked as it aged (which I kind of expected).

T- Lemons, straw, hint of lime, some faint esters, finishes lightly sour with a hint of tartness. Interesting, definitely a nice sour pale ale presence that is attributed from the aging.

M- Light, low carbonation, easy drinking.

O- This was an interesting beer and perhaps the beer that changed the most in the series (although I never had any of the earlier ones fresh). It definitely took over a nice sour tart presence that fit well with the beer but didn't make it anything special. I liked this beer and I definitely enjoyed drinking it. It took a very nice presence aging, but it still definitely isn't my favorite in the series.

04 Vertical Epic pours an opaque goldenrod, with minimal head or lacing (partly a function of the pour?). The aroma has plenty of banana, with a bit of lime noticeable also. The lime peel is a bit more present in the flavor, probably sharing equal billing with the banana esters. A touch of sherry like oxidation adds a bit of subtle complexity to everything. Mouthfeel wise the carbonation doesn't jump out right away, but it's plenty lively. The body is just a tad heavy though. It's remarkable how well 04VE has held up.

D - Ages more gracefully than I'd expected, but I'm not sure why something like this really exists. Despite its docile nature you can tell where this came from and compared to where it is now, it's not horrible.